2 Down, 1 to Heal
by dino-dog83
Summary: JJ tries to take down two Unsub's by herself in order to save a young hostage. But what happens when she ends up hurt after the take down...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok just a few quick notes and then on to the story. First of all, I'm new to CM and haven't seen all the episodes let alone most of the ones I have seen haven't been in the correct order - so keep that in mind. Secondly, this is my first fic in this category and I'm gonna post the first bit of it and see if you all like it before I carry on. If no one likes it then I won't force you all to read it ;) Now on to the story...**

CHAPTER 1

Parking her SUV SSA Jennifer Jareau exited the vehicle and started to approach the front door of an average looking house on an average looking street. She was there to conduct an interview of a man named Austin James he was believed to be a co-worker of the Unsub that they were currently searching for. Just as she reached the porch she felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. When she pulled it out and looked at the Caller ID she could see it was her boss and friend SSA Aaron Hotchner.

"Hey Hotch." She said into the phone.

"JJ where are you?" Hotch asked back with some concern in his voice.

"I'm at Austin James house for an interview."

"JJ listen to me, James is the Unsub. I'm on my way now with Morgan and Prentiss ETA is 8 minutes. Don't do anything until we get there."

"Ok, what about Cassie Jenkins?" JJ asked referring to the 13 year old girl they had been searching for, for nearly a week.

"We think he has her in his house. There's a possibility she's still alive and..." but JJ didn't hear the rest of what Hotch was saying all she could hear was a girl scream and it was coming from the house. She figured it must be coming from Cassie Jenkins. "JJ? We'll be there in 6 minutes."

"Sorry Hotch, we're out of time." She said to him before she hung up her phone and pulled her gun from her hip and made her way into the house.

"Dammit!" Hotch yelled from the passenger seat of the SUV being driven by Morgan.

"What is it?" Emily asked from the back seat.

"I think JJ just went into James' house." Hotch replied as Morgan leaned heavily on the gas pedal in an attempt to get to his friend as soon as he could.

As the dark SUV pulled up in front of James' house they could see that JJ's car was parked out front and that the front door to the house was wide open. The three members of the BAU quickly approached the house guns drawn.

"Once we get inside split up and clear the house as fast as you can." Hotch told his agents as they made their way to the front door.

Once they where through the front door Morgan headed left into the kitchen and Prentiss went right to the living room. As Hotch made his way up the stars he could hear his colleagues shouting "Clear" as they made their way from one room to the next.

Clearing rooms as he went Hotch quickly reached the Master bedroom at the end of the hall. Once inside he saw two dead men, one of which he identified as Austin James. He spotted Cassie Jenkins tied to a chair in the corner and then he saw it. JJ was unconscious on the floor on the far side of the room.

"Morgan, Prentiss I found them. Call an ambulance!" Hotch yelled downstairs to his colleagues but found they were already making their way upstairs having found nothing of interest on the first floor.

"This is Agent Prentiss with the FBI. I need an ambulance at 476 Queen Street we have an agent down."

Hotch was at JJ's side checking on her while Morgan untied Cassie and lead her out of the house to safety. "JJ? It's Hotch. Can you hear me?" He saw her move slightly but her eyes never opened.

"EMT's are on their way should be here in a couple of minutes. How is she?" he heard Prentiss ask.

"I don't know she's unconscious but her pulse is steady. She doesn't appear to have been shot but I think she was hit in the head with that." He said pointing to the baseball bat on the floor next to JJ.

"What happened in here?" Emily said more to herself than anyone else.

"No not yet baby girl. I'll let you know as soon as I find out. Ok bye." Morgan slid his cell phone back into his pocket before joining Emily and Reid in the waiting room of the San Maria Hospital.

"How'd Garcia take the news?" Reid asked

"Not well. You know her and JJ are tight. She wanted to hop on a plane and fly out here the minute I told her." Morgan answered referring to the call he'd just finished.

"I wonder how Hotch is making out with Cassie Jenkins." Emily said after a few moments of silence.

"Looks like we won't have to wait to find out." Reid said point towards their boss who was heading towards them.

"Hey." Morgan greeted his friend.

"Any news on JJ?" Hotch asked.

"No not yet. How'd it go with Cassie? Were you able to find out what happened?" Morgan asked as they found a place to sit together in the waiting room.

"Cassie Jenkins was able to fill us in on the entire thing." Hotch started. "When JJ was on the phone with me. She must of heard Cassie scream. That's when Austin James was about to kill her. Cassie said the next thing she knew was that JJ was in the room and pointing her gun at James who was holding his knife to Cassie's throat. JJ told James to put down the knife several times and then shot him when James made a move to kill the girl."

"Ok so how'd JJ end up with a baseball bat to the head?" Emily asked.

"Seems that JJ wasn't aware of the second unsub." Hotch continued. "Cassie tried to tell her but with tape across her mouth she wasn't able to warn her in time and the second unsub, Brad James – Austin's younger brother, hit her over the head with the bat."

"So how was she able to shoot Brad James?" asked Reid this time.

"She was still conscious at that time and was able to fight him off. She shot him when he came after her again. Cassie said it was just after that that she passed out."

"Wow." Was all Morgan was able to say.

"That's our girl one tough cookie." Emily said showing pride and concern for her friend. "How's Cassie doing?"

"She'll be alright. She's with her family. No physical injuries." Hotch replied.

"Excuse me?" A doctor approached the team. "Are you all here for Agent Jareau?"

"Yes, we're her colleagues." Hotch replied as he and the rest of the team stood up. "How is she?"

"I'm Dr. Ericson." The doctor introduced himself before continuing; "Agent Jareau has some minor cuts and abrasions on her arms which aren't at all serious. We gave her 4 stitches for the gash on her forehead. She's awake now and we're performing some more tests." The doctor stopped for a moment to allow them to process.

"Tests? For what" Emily asked stepping up to stand beside Hotch.

"I believe Agent Jareau has retrograde amnesia."

"I don't understand. What does that mean?" Emily asked.

"Retrograde amnesia," Reid started cutting the doctor off "is a form of amnesia in which someone is unable to recall the events that occurred before the development of the amnesia. It is caused by trauma to the brain, in this case when Brad James hit JJ with the baseball bat."

Dr. Ericson nodded his head in agreement before Emily asked; "So you're saying that she doesn't remember the case?"

"No she doesn't. But what I'm really saying is that she may not remember a lot more than that." Dr. Ericson paused for a minute to allow them to process. "She seems to know who she is and can remember her child hood and teen years quiet well. She remembers attending college and getting a job at the FBI but that's where it seems to get fuzzy for her."

"So she doesn't remember any of us?" Reid asked.

"I'm not sure yet. The nurses are with her now asking her questions and trying to assess what memories she may or may not have lost. But she hasn't mentioned any of you yet."

"This is only temporary right?" Emily spoke up once again.

"Hard to say with this type of head injury. We'll just have to wait and see really. I wish I could tell you more than that." Dr. Ericson spoke honestly.

"Can we see her?" Morgan joined into the conversation.

"Yes, as soon as we're done with our testing I'll have a nurse come and get you. I think it would be best if only one or two of you went in to see her. Patients who are experiencing this type of amnesia can be easily overwhelmed by loved ones trying to reacquaint themselves."

"Sometimes seeing familiar people and surroundings can 'jog' their memory too." Reid shared his knowledge with the team once again.

"This is true." Dr. Ericson confirmed. "But it's best not to overwhelm her with too much right away. Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to get back to Agent Jareau and see how things are progressing." And with that the doctor turned and headed off down the hall out of sight.

"Reid I think you and Prentiss should stay here with JJ." Hotch spoke up taking charge. "Morgan and I will go back to the local PD and wrap up the case. You can call Garcia when we get there and fill her in." He looked at Morgan and got a nod of agreement in response.

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor (nor do I play one on TV!) – so I did a bit of web surfing and the stuff about the retrograde amnesia comes from Wikipedia – it worked for this story so that's what I'm using! And that is that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So it seems I've gotten the interest in this story and I am happy to report I will continue on. And here I thought no one would like it LOL - just goes to show eh!**

CHAPTER 2

"Dr. Reid, Agent Prentiss." A nurse asked as she made her way into the waiting room. "You're here for Agent Jareau correct?"

"Yes we are." Emily said as she and Reid stood to meet the nurse.

"My name is Carol and I've been working closely with Agent Jareau for the last couple of hours. If you'd like to see her now you can come with me."

"Does she know who we are?" Emily asked.

"I'm afraid not. But her memories are resurfacing so she may remember in time. This way please."

Nurse Carol led Emily and Reid to JJ's room before heading off down the hall to tend to her other patients. When JJ saw the two enter, Emily could see that she was a bit nervous and was checking her and Reid out from top to bottom.

"Hi, how are you feeling?" Reid asked stepping further into the room.

"Um, I'm not sure. Alright I guess." JJ answered. "I don't think I'll be of much help to you though." She stated simply.

"I'm sorry?" Emily asked not quiet understanding what her friend was getting at.

"You're with the FBI right?" JJ asked pointing to both Reid's and Prentiss' FBI credentials hanging from their clothes. "But I'm afraid I don't remember what happened."

"Oh." Reid said as he realized that JJ thought they were there to question her about what had transpired during her time in the James' residence. "No we're not here to question you. We're um... well we're..."

"Your family." Emily stated seeing that Reid was having some trouble picking the right word. "Well not in the biological sense," she continued seeing the confused look on her friends face. "I mean we're not related that way but we are a family. You, me and Reid," Emily said pointing to each individual as she went, "work together at the FBI and we're very close." At this point Emily was now riffling threw her bag looking for her wallet. "See." She said handing her a photo from her wallet.

It was a picture of all of them out for a night on the town after one of their more difficult cases. JJ reached out and took the photo. "I...uh...I don't recognize anyone." She said.

"That's ok, it'll come with time." Reid said.

Emily walked around to the other side of JJ's bed and began pointing out the people in the photo. "Ok now see, that's you in the middle and this, is Penelope Garcia, she's one of your best friends and a computer goddess. This is Derek Morgan he's a fellow agent and kind of like a big brother to you. This is Aaron Hotchner, but we call him Hotch. He's our boss, the unit chief at the BAU where we work. You two are very good friends. And this," she said pointing to both the photo and the man beside her, "is Dr. Spencer Reid, he's our resident expert."

"Expert?" JJ asked looking at him. "In what?"

"Everything." Emily replied in a sarcastic tone before continuing. "This is me, uh Emily Prentiss."

"And we're pretty good friends too I take it?" JJ asked narrowing her eyes and farrowing her brow at her older friend.

"The best!" Emily smiled putting her hand on JJ's shoulder.

"Well I don't remember any of you," she said looking at the photo again, "but you don't feel..." JJ started but then stopped suddenly. Emily and Reid could see that she was searching for the right words before continuing, "...like strangers either." She said looking up with some confusion in her eyes.

"Good enough for me." Emily smiled at her and then put her arm around JJ's shoulders and gave her a small hug.

"Morgan" he answered his phone quickly. "Oh hey Kid, how's JJ doing?"

"Emily is with her now," Reid replied to his friend. "She doesn't remember us Morgan."

"Hang in there Kid – she will."

"Statistically the odds of her gaining her full memories back are..."

"Kid, kid..." Morgan cut him of mid sentence. "Just have faith man." And with that the two men wrapped up the call. Morgan put is phone on his desk and sat staring it for only a moment before he picked it up to make a call.

"Hey Baby Girl, how's my technical genius today?"

"Worried about my fallen Angel, Sugar."

"That's actually why I'm calling. JJ is awake and physically she's going to be fine. But..."

"But what!" Garcia demanded.

"But she has amnesia Baby Doll."

"You mean she doesn't remember anything?"

"No. No she remembers some things, most of her early life and right through to college according to the Doctor."

"And after college?" Garcia asked sounding exceedingly worried.

"Well she remembers joining the FBI and some things after that but not much. Reid says she doesn't remember any of us right now. Emily and Reid are still at the hospital with her."

"This is only temporary right?" Morgan could hear the hope in Garcia's voice.

"I hope so Mamma, I hope so." Was all he could say at this point.

"Morgan, Hotch, over here!" Reid called from the waiting area of the hospital.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked confused as to why they weren't with JJ.

"JJ fell asleep about an hour ago; we figured it'd be best to let her rest." Emily spoke up. "Dr. Ericson is supposed to meet with us shortly to discuss her discharge." And with that they 4 of them took up some seats and talked amongst themselves while they waited for the doctor.

"Agents, nice to see you all again." Dr. Ericson said as he approached the group.

"Doctor," Hotch stood up and greeted the man. "My colleagues tell me you'll be releasing Agent Jareau soon?"

"Yes there really isn't a reason to keep her here any longer. Her physical injuries aren't that substantial of course she'll need to follow up with her regular Doctor once she gets home. I can provide you with some referrals if you need them."

"Thank you that would be great." Hotch said as he took some papers from the doctor.

"Um, I don't mean to be a downer, but does JJ even know where she lives?" Emily asked from behind Hotch.

"How long as she lived there?" Ericson asked her in return.

"A few years." Emily replied, not sure of the exact date.

"Then probably not, but you'll have to ask her about. I would recommend that she not stay by herself for a while. It would be best however if someone could stay with her at her home. The familiar surroundings may help her memories resurface."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem Doctor." Hotch glanced towards Emily and she nodded in agreement.

Noticing the exchange between the agents Dr. Ericson couldn't help but interject. "Um, Agent Hotchner, you may wish to include Agent Jareau in these decisions. She has some missing memories but is still an adult and quiet capable of taking care of herself and making her own choices if she so wishes."

"Of course. Thank you Doctor." Hotch shook the man's hand before he headed off down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for their reviews, alerts and favourites for this story and me as an writer!**

CHAPTER 3

While the others were down in the cafeteria having dinner Morgan decided he'd take a walk by JJ's room and see if she was awake yet. To his surprise she was up and reading a magazine in her bed when he arrived.

"Hey Girl," he said as he walked into her room. He noticed when she looked up she was trying to decide if she knew him or not. "hard to tell who you know and who you don't around here huh?" he smiled at her.

"Yeah," she smiled back. "How'd you know?"

He laughed before he sat down beside her. "I'm a profiler, it's my job." She nodded her head in reply. "So how ya doing?"

"Derek right?" he nodded his head in return. "I'm ok. I still have a headache and this still hurts." She said pointing to the now stitched cut on her forehead. "I think I'm kind of glad I don't remember how this happened." She joked with him.

"I could tell you what happened if you want to know." He told her.

"Maybe later, I think there are other things I'd like to know about first." She said looking down at her hands.

"Well ask away I'll see what I can do to help."

"Ok." She shifted in the bed so that she was sitting up cross legged looking at him. "Dr. Ericson says that I can go home in the morning. But I'm not even sure where that is. The last place I remember living is in a studio apartment in New York. But I'm pretty sure I don't live there anymore."

"Why's that?" Morgan asked.

"Emily. She said we all work for the FBI in Virgina. That'd be a hell of a commute."

He smiled at her and let out a small laugh. "Well you'd be right then. You have a townhouse not too far from the office. It's a nice place, couple bedrooms, 1.5 baths. A lil' messy but I think that's your style."

Sitting comfortably on the jet the team settled in for their return trip to DC. Hotch was sitting at the back of the plane finishing up the last of the paper work from their case and Morgan was in the middle observing the rest of the team. Reid was reading a book and sitting quietly across the aisle from JJ and Emily.

Emily and JJ had been chatting for the better part of an hour now and Morgan could see that their conversation was wrapping up when JJ picked up a book and began reading as Emily came to sit beside him.

"How's she doing?" he nodded towards his blonde colleague.

"Good. Tired. Confused." Emily trailed of deciding she was stating the obvious.

"And how are you doing?" Morgan smiled when she turned her head to look at him.

"I'm fine." She paused looking at him. The look on his face said 'I don't believe you' so she continued on. "Nervous actually. I know she said she was ok with me staying at her place, but she doesn't even know me anymore. What if," she stopped and let out a large sigh before continuing. "What if we don't get along?"

"Come on Emily, that's ridiculous. You guys are really good friends." Seeing that she was about to protest he cut her off. "Yes, even if she can't remember you right now."

The two agents sat in silence for a moment. When Emily looked up at Morgan again he could see a strange little smile on her face. "What?" he asked following her gaze to where JJ was sitting reading.

Looking over at JJ Emily smiled at Derek again and said; "Do you think we should tell her she finished reading that book on the way out here?"


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"JJ, you've been wondering around for over an hour now." Emily said as she sat on the sofa in the middle of JJ's townhouse. "Why don't you come sit down for a bit?"

"Sorry." JJ sighed as she plopped down on the sofa beside her friend. "I just thought being here would help me remember something.

"Give it time JJ, you've only been home for an hour and a half.

"Yeah well apparently it only took about a minute and a half for me to forget it all." The frustration in her voice hadn't gone unnoticed by the seasoned profiler sitting beside her.

The two women sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Emily decided to change the subject. "You hungry?" she asked eying her friend.

"Yeah," JJ sat up and turned towards the dark haired agent. "Actually I am."

"Ok, good. Stay here I'll see what's in the kitchen." Emily made her way into the kitchen area and started to route through the fridge and the cupboards looking for something for the two to eat for dinner.

As Emily made her way to the kitchen JJ stood up and made her way towards a bookcase in the corner of the living room. As she approached she reached out for one of the many framed photographs on the self. Identifying the people in the first photo as her Aunt and cousin she placed it back in its original spot and moved to the next frame. Examining it, she quickly recognized herself but couldn't place the other girl in the picture with her.

'Did she know even know her?' JJ thought to herself. 'Of course she did, why would she be in a picture with someone she didn't know let alone frame it and keep it in her home.' The quick thought passed thru her mind. Just as she was about to place this frame next the first photograph of her Aunt and Cousin she heard the door bell chime.

"You want me to get that?" Emily yelled from the kitchen.

"Umm, no. I got it." She replied back. Feeling a little awkward she moved to answer the door.

Cautiously opening the door, JJ was quickly embraced by colourfully dressed blonde woman who she hadn't recognized at all. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable at the display of affection from a woman she didn't even know the name of, or at least couldn't remember knowing, JJ quickly shrugged off the woman's show of affection and took a step back.

"Oh I'm so sorry peaches. I was just so utterly and joyously ecstatic to see you that I didn't even think that you'd...you'd..." not sure what to say and noticing the look on JJ's face Garcia stopped talking and stood there and stared at her.

Noticing the tears forming in the brightly dressed woman's eyes, JJ was now more uncomfortable than she'd been when the woman had been hugging her. "Uh, it's ok." She started not really sure what to say. "I just." She started to say and then stopped again. "Penelope?" she asked.

"You remembered?" Came Emily's hopeful voice from the kitchen doorway.

"Yeah." JJ said but then quickly added to her reply when Garcia moved in for another hug. "I mean no!" she said holding up a finger to stop her and taking half a step back trying to keep the woman from hugging her again. "I remember her from the picture you showed me in the hospital. But that's all." She got her explanation out while the two women stared at her. Feeling more than slightly uncomfortable JJ started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked.

"Outside." JJ huffed matter-of-factly without turning around.

"Give her time PG." Emily said placing a hand on the exuberant technical genius' shoulder as they watched their friend walk out the back door. "She's confused and overwhelmed right now."

"I know." Was all Garcia was able to say at this point in time.

2 weeks later...

"I wish you'd quit telling me to relax Aunt Kate." JJ said into the phone as she plopped down on her bed.

_Well honey I'm not sur__e what you want me to say here. You know you could come home and stay with me for a bit._

"I know, but I don't think that'll help me. I remember my life there it's my life here that's the problem."

_How are things going with Emily staying there__?_

"She's been great, she's seems very nice person, but she keeps looking at me as if she's waiting for me to remember her. They all do."

_And do you? Remember her? Or the others?_

"I don't know." JJ paused for a moment trying to figure out how to explain the swirling mess in her head. "I remember bits and pieces of things I guess. Some names sometimes but nothing that makes much sense."

_Why don't you talk to Emily or one of your other friends about it? I'm sure any of them would be willing to help.__ They love you you know?_

JJ was just about to answer the woman on the phone when she heard a knock at her door. "I gotta go Aunt Kate, but I'll call you again soon." She quickly hung up the phone and made her way to the bedroom door already knowing that it'd be Emily on the other side.

"Hey," Emily said when she opened the door. "I didn't mean to interrupt your call. I was just wondering if you wanted to order pizza tonight?" she asked in an apologetic but upbeat tone.

Sighing JJ decided to ignore the question as she sat down heavily on her bed. "You know we can't do this forever."

"Do what?" Emily asked still standing in the doorway.

"This." JJ said holding out her hands and motioning to the room around her. "You can't just live here forever Emily. It's been what, 2 weeks now? You haven't been to work or to your own place because you've been here babysitting me." Frustration was evident in her voice.

"JJ, I …" Emily started but was abruptly cut off by her blonde friend.

"Who's Elle Greenaway?" And with that question Emily slowly made her way over to the bed and sat down beside her friend not sure what say. "I remember some things here and there. Names mostly. A few other things, but not a lot of makes sense." JJ tried to explain where this name had come from.

"Elle," Emily started, but not sure what to say about the Agent she'd replaced. "worked at the BAU with you and the others before I started there. I don't know much about her personally because I never worked with her. She was a good Agent from what I've heard though."

"Oh." Was all JJ said.

"Maybe you could ask one of the others about her. Morgan knew her well." Emily added not wanting to stall any progress her friend was making.

"Ok. Maybe we could go over there after dinner?"

"Sure. I'll uh give him a call." And with that Emily flipped out her phone and gave Morgan a call. "Hey Morgan, you doing anything tonight?...JJ and I were thinking of stopping by, she has some questions about Elle…. Yeah some…. Ok see you then."

JJ listened to Emily's side of the phone call as she laid back on her bed and put her hands over her face.

"JJ are you ok?" Emily asked as she got off the phone.

"I feel like we're about to head off to see the Wizard." She said in a flat tone.

"Uh, huh?" Emily asked clearly not following.

Removing her hands from her face and turning her head to look at Emily JJ smiled a little before replying; "If I only had a brain."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Ok so this chappy is kinda short. But I tried to ad more and it just didn't sound right and kinda felt like filler. Hope to get more for you soon - enjoy!**

CHAPTER 5

Pulling into Morgan's driveway and putting her car into park Emily and JJ were still laughing and giggling with each other. The light hearted banter had started with JJ's Wizard of Oz comment and had continued on throughout dinner and during the drive to Morgan's.

As they made their way up the walk both girls had begun to quiet down and stood waiting for their friend to open the door and let them in. Swinging the door open with a smile Morgan stood back and allowed the two women into his home. "I hope we're not imposing." JJ said feeling a bit awkward about inviting themselves over at the last minute.

"Are you kiddin' me? It's not every day I get to enjoy the company of two beautiful women." He smiled again.

"Somehow I doubt that." Emily quipped.

"Come on in. Make yourselves comfortable. I just have to let Clooney in." he stated before heading off to let his dog in from the backyard.

As the two women made their way into the living room, they could see Morgan in the kitchen putting dog food into a dish and placing it on the floor. With that task out of the way JJ watched as he made his way to the back door to let Clooney in.

"JJ?" Emily asked out of concern when she saw her friend begin to tense up. Emily quickly followed the blondes gaze to the back door where Clooney's black nose could be seen poking through the door frame. Confused Emily turned her attention back to JJ who had already started to slide to the far end of the sofa. "JJ?" She tried again, still confused at the odd behavior of her friend.

"Morgan?" Emily called out to their friend.

"Yeah?" He replied non-chalantly as he made his way towards the two women on his sofa. As he entered the living room he could see that his friend was obviously terrified. After all it didn't take a profiler to see that level of fear. Perched on the far end of the sofa, she looked as if she was ready to make a run for it any second now. But before Derek had a chance to react JJ had shut her eyes tight and began muttering something to herself.

"JJ?" Emily said again reaching a hand out for her friends shoulder. At the touch on her shoulder JJ's eyes suddenly flew open and she sprung from the sofa and moved away from everything until she found herself in the corner with her back up against the wall.

"JJ it's just us." Emily tried, sharing a glance with Morgan. "It's Emily and Morgan." She tried again this time her hands were raised in front of her trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked JJ in a calm tone. But when she failed to answer he glanced over to Emily who just shook her head since she too was at a loss for the strange behavior.

"I don't know," Emily started. "We were just sitting here and…shit." She finished as she thought she figured out the answer.

"What?" Morgan asked still in the dark.

"The dog!." Emily said turning back to her friend. "JJ look at me."

"Clooney?" Derek questioned, still not quiet following.

At the mention of his name Clooney started to head towards his master making his way into the living room.

"No, no no no no no." JJ said as she tried to back further into the wall behind her. Her feet sliding on the hardwood floors as she tried to push herself through the wall.

"JJ look at me." Emily tried again. "It's just Clooney. Derek's dog. He's not going to hurt you." And it was with those words that Derek had finally realized what was going on. Somewhere in that pretty little blonde head she'd associated seeing Clooney with the dogs she had faced in Henkel's barn. Sure she'd been over and seen Clooney since then, but this was different. She was reliving the memory as it resurfaced, she wasn't aware that she was afraid of dogs.

As soon as Derek had realized what the cause of the problem was he quickly grabbed his dog by the collar and lead him to the back door and put him in the yard again before returning to the living room once again.

"JJ I'm sorry." He said seeing that she was now sitting on the floor with Emily by her side. "Are you ok?"

"Uh yeah." She said refusing to make eye contact with either of them. "I uh don't know what happened."

"I think we do." Emily said reaching out her hand careful not to touch the scared woman but offering her help up off of the floor. "Come sit down."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: sorry for the wait... I have the story planned out completely but this chapter didn't seem to want to write it's self, I've re-written it about 10 times and and am finally happy with it, so ta da ;)**

CHAPTER 6

Sitting on the sofa in her friend's home Emily Prentiss was at a loss of what to do. Things had not been easy for JJ since she had been attacked at the James' house, but the last few hours had been hard on her and hard on Emily too if she were honest with herself.

"Morgan, hey" Emily said answering her cell phone.

_Hey, how is she?_

"The same. Agitated, withdrawn." Emily let out a sigh. "When we got home she went straight to her room without saying a word and I haven't seen her since."

_Yeah well it can't be easy remembering something like that._

"No I suppose not." Emily paused for a moment, not afraid to ask her next question but afraid of what the answer might be. "Morgan, do you think she'll be alright?"

_Of course she will. She's got all of us to make sure she gets through this. Just hang in there with her Em. JJ needs us weather she knows it or not._

"Yeah, I know." Emily sighed a little as she relaxed back into the couch.

_Hey did you need some company tonight?_

"No, we'll be fine. Thanks Derek."

Meanwhile up in JJ's bedroom…

"Come on" JJ muttered to herself as she pulled another box off the top shelf of her closet and tossed it among the newly scattered mess in her room. "There's got to be something here." She muttered again as she began riffling through the box.

The first two boxes held mementos of her child hood and teen years. While the trinkets and pictures had brought back good memories they weren't what she needed. Those memories she knew. What she was really looking for was trinkets and pictures that would hopefully fill the void in her mind of these people in her life that, even though she couldn't remember knew were her friends. Maybe even family, like she'd heard them describe to her many times over the last few weeks.

As she began to dig through the box a small smile crept across her face as she realized this was the box she'd been looking for since locking herself in her room upon her return from Morgan's.

As JJ sat on the floor she began pulling things from the box. The first was a photo of her and Emily and Penelope at what appeared to be a bar of some type. Flipping it over she read out loud; "Me and the girls the night we met 'Brad the 'Real' FBI agent." JJ smilied though she couldn't remember the night in question she knew it must have been good if she'd taken the time to write the comment on the back and put the picture in the box with her other treasured memories.

Digging into the box again she found many pictures of her and Emily, her and Penelope and a lot more of the three of them together. She'd also found a few pictures of her with the guys from her team. All of them carefully placed in the box and most of them had something commemorative written on the back.

Carefully setting the pictures aside JJ reached in the box and pulled out a plain white envelope. Flipping it over she looked at the post mark 'North Mammon, PA.' "Polly Homefeldt" she said out loud hoping the name would mean something to her, but it didn't.

Opening the letter JJ began to read to herself.

_Hey JJ,_

_So this will probably be my last letter to you for a while. I'm starting at Penn State soon and I don't think I'll have much free time between my studies and soccer._

_My mom wants me to tell you thank you again. I'm sure this is like the thousandth time, but you know how she can be. She's selling the house in North Mammon and moving closer to the college. I thought it was weird at first but now I'm kind of glad that she'll be closer. I've got my own place on campus though. Well not exactly my own. I'll be sharing with one of the other girls on the soccer team. Her name is Ashley, we've talked on the phone a few times. She seems nice._

_You've done so much for me that 'Thank You' just doesn't seem like the right thing to say. But it's all I've got. So THANK YOU! Without your help I doubt I would have made it to this far._

_Your friend,_

_Polly _

_P.S. thanks for the soccer tips I know they will come in handy._

Sighing in frustration JJ threw the letter to the ground and continued to riffle through the box in front of her. She found many more pictures and a few more letters from people she couldn't identify. She'd even found a couple more from Polly.

Reaching in the box once more she pulled out a dried rose that was attached to a picture. Carefully pulling it out of the box she looked at the picture and immediately recognized the man in the photo as none other than Dr. Spencer Reid the 'team's resident expert' or so she'd been told.

Looking closely at the photo she recognized the background as FedEX Field the home stadium of the Washington Redskins Football team. It was funny she thought to herself she didn't think Doctor Reid would be the type to be interested in football. Then she had to laugh to herself; how was she to know what anyone liked when she herself couldn't remember years of her own life.

Flipping over the photo she read the comment on the back, "Our first date." There it was plain and simple. Was she still dating him? Surely he would of said something or Emily would of. It was pretty obvious they weren't living together since there were no 'men things' around. Maybe they'd had a bad breakup and that's why he was so nervous around her. And that's when it hit her. Sitting on the floor in her bedroom wondering wasn't going to answer these questions. She'd just have to pay a visit to the good Doctor.

Looking around her room, she grabbed her jacket and cell phone and headed out. Noticing it was late and not wanting to disturb Emily, who she assumed would be asleep by now she quietly headed out the door.

"JJ?" Emily called as she knocked on the blonde's bedroom door. She knew it was late and there was a good chance that JJ had fallen asleep but after all the commotion that had taken place at Morgan's she thought it would be a good idea to check on her friend.

"JJ?" She called again as she slowly opened the door and made her way into the disaster zone, formally known as JJ's bedroom. Looking around at the various boxes pulled from the shelf and numerous pictures, letters, trinkets and other keepsakes that were strewn about the floor Emily's eyes grew wide.

Deciding that she would take Morgan up on his early offer to come over Emily pulled out her phone and called Derek.

_Morgan_

"Morgan, she's gone. I went to check on her and she's not here." Emily said in a bit of a panic. Which Morgan immediately knew was uncharacteristic.

_Emily? Slow down what's going on?_

"I don't know. I think JJ went somewhere. But I don't know where."

_Ok tell me what happened._

"Um, yeah ok. After I got off the phone with you, I headed upstairs to my room to read for a little bit. I wanted to give JJ some space you know." Emily started to replay the events calming herself as she went. " After an hour or so I thought I should check on her and she was gone. When I went into her room it's was a complete mess Derek. It looks like she's been digging through old photo albums and boxes of keepsakes and nic-naks."

_Ok and you didn't know she was going anywhere?_

"No she must have left when I was reading. She probably thought I was asleep."

_Well I don't mean to sound unsympathetic or anything but she is a grown woman I'm sure she can take care of herself._

"You think we shouldn't look for her?"

_I didn't say that. Any idea where she might have gone?_

"I don't know Morgan, it's pretty much a war zone in here." Emily began to look around in full profiler mode now.

_Come on Em, you're a good at what you do look around what do you see? Where could she have gone?  
_

"There are pictures everywhere and letters from…" she paused for a moment. "from victims and families of victims we've helped over the years. There are several from Polly Homefeldt. She could be on her way to North Mammon for all I know."

**A/N2: Where could JJ have gone? LOL Ok so not really going to be a big surprise I don't think but hopefully y'all are still interested just the same.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Ok so here's the next part... sorry for the delay (I hope people are still following this). Too much hockey not enough writting time! Goalies are in such high demand LOL!**

It's true when she'd left her house she was on a one woman mission to find out about her life and weather that involved someone special or not. However standing in the hallway to Reid's apartment JJ suddenly felt like this wasn't such a good idea. After all it was late when she'd left her house and even later now that she'd had finally gotten to his apartment.

Deciding that she was already there and she couldn't wait until morning in order to find out she knocked on the door and waited for Reid to answer. After several seconds of silence JJ let out a sigh and turned to leave.

"JJ?" She heard from behind her.

Turning to look at the man standing in the hallway behind JJ replied; "Doctor Reid, I um…" she trailed off not knowing what to say since she'd already resigned herself to the fact that she wasn't going to get to speak to him tonight.

When he first saw her standing there he'd thought everything was back to normal and that she'd come to tell him that she'd regained her memories. How else would she know where to find him. But in that one moment his hopes had been dashed. She'd called him Doctor Reid. She hadn't done that since the first time they'd met. It'd always been just 'Reid' or more often 'Spence.'

"How…how did you find me?" He asked as he put his key into the door and invited her in.

"I have amnesia, not stupidity. I thought you were some kind of genius." She tried to joke with him. "I found your number in my phone and called directory assistance." She continued her explanation.

"That makes sense." Reid replied with a smile not sure what else to say. "So uh… what brings you here tonight?"

"Oh I wanted to ask you something about my past, our past I guess."

"Ok." Reid eyed the woman curiously not really sure what she wanted to ask.

"Look, Doctor" She stopped before trying again "Spencer right?" he nodded and she continued. "Are we dating or did we at some point? Is that why you've been acting all weird around me?"

"I…What?" Reid asked in confusion. JJ stood there unsure of how to continue. "Why don't we go inside?" Reid asked opening the door to his apartment and making his way in.

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"Emily?" Morgan called as he walked through the door to JJ's house.

"Up here." She called back from somewhere upstairs. Making his way up the stairs he called out her name again all the while listening so that he could make out where she was located.

"Whoa." He said stopping dead in his tracks as he surveyed the mess that JJ had left behind in her room. The mess that Emily was currently sorting through trying to determine where their friend might have gone.

"I know. I don't even know where to start." Emily sighed and waived her hands around to show the piles of papers and photos scattered around the room. "I mean look at this." She said handing him a stack of letters.

After sorting through the first few Morgan looked at her for a second before continuing; "Did you know she was getting all these letters from victims and their families?"

"No. But I can't really say that I'm surprised. Some of the correspondence seems to go on for years."

"When was the last time you tried her cell phone?"

"About 20 minutes ago. I was just about to try it again when you showed up." Emily said pulling out her cell phone and trying again. "Voice mail again."

"I think we should call the others." Morgan pulled out his phone and began to dial. "Hey Hotch. We've got a problem…."


	8. Chapter 8

"So uh why exactly do you think we're dating?" Reid asked JJ as he handed her a cup of tea and sat down next to her on the sofa.

"I found this." Was her simple reply as she handed over the photo she'd found in her room earlier that night.

Reid took the photo in his hands and couldn't help but smile. He remembered that day well. It had actually started about 2 weeks before on his birthday when Gideon gave him the tickets as a present….

**_Reid stood on the front step to JJ's townhouse waiting for her to answer the door. He'd read every book he could find on the Red Skins and on Football in general so that he would know what was going on and could discuss the game with her. Even though he had prepared for his date Reid found himself getting more nervous the longer he stood there on the porch. Fortunately for him that wouldn't be a problem much longer since he could hear JJ on the other side of the door._**

**"_Hey Spence!" JJ smiled as she opened the door and let him in. _**

**"_Hi" He smiled back and stepped inside. "You look, good. I like you're um, jersey."_**

**"_Thanks. I've had it forever." referring to the Red Skins jersey she wore with her jeans. "My dad gave it to me when I was a kid. Russ Grimm was his favorite player. You look nice too."_**

**"I think I'm over dressed." Reid said awkwardly.**

**"_Yeah you might wanna loose the tie. Hang on." She said before disappearing down the hall. Reid began to remove his tie as he waited for her to return._**

**"_Here, wear this." She said handing him as shit similar to her own – only this one didn't have any name or number on the back._**

**"_Oh um, yeah. Thanks." Reid stuttered as her pulled the shirt on over his head. "Shall we go?"_**

"What?" JJ asked noticing the strange little smile that had crept onto his face.

"Huh, oh nothing."

"No that was defiantly not a nothing smile." She accused and raised one eye brow hoping he'd tell her what he was thinking.

"This was our first and only date. Now we're just really good friends." He'd stopped again hoping that'd be enough of an answer for her. However the look on her face told him otherwise so he continued. "Gideon, um he used to work with us, gave me the tickets for my birthday and said I should invite you because you were a Redskins fan."

"Ok." JJ answered when she realized he wasn't going to continue. "So what happened?" finally asked him after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Nothing. I read a lot of books about football before that night. We went to the game, ate hot dogs, I spilled mustard on my shirt. And we decided we should just be friends. And that's what we are."

"Oh." Was JJ's simple reply and Reid couldn't tell if it was disappointment or confusion he heard in her voice.

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"Garcia can you find her?" Hotch asked through his phone as he stood beside Emily in JJ's living room.

"No Sir, she must have turned off her cell phone. But I've got a trap on it as soon as she turns it back on I'll know where she is."

"Good work." Hotch said before hanging up his phone and turning to Emily "JJ's turned her phone off. Garcia can't track her."

"That would explain why I keep getting her voice mail." Emily sighed.

"What did you and Morgan find?"

"Pictures, and letters mostly. I think she was trying to figure out what she can't remember by going through all the stuff she'd stored away as keepsakes."

"She's stressed, emotional, tired. She's not behaving rationally. She's driven by a need to regain her lost memories…" Hotch began.

"Wait." She stopped her boss before he had a chance to continue. "Are we really going to do this? Are we really going to stand here and profile her?"

"Just enough to find out where she might have gone." Morgan said as he made his way back downstairs.

"Did you find anything?" Hotch asked the younger agent.

"Nothing helpful. What about Garcia?"

"JJ turned her phone off, Garcia is watching it. And we can't get a hold of Reid."

"I think he had a Narcotics Anonyms meeting tonight. Probably turned his phone off."

"Ok we'll leave him out of this for now." Hotch said. "Right now let's try to compile a list of places she might have gone."

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"Your kiddin'?" JJ asked as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"No, you really had us going with your story about being afraid of the woods. Morgan even threatened to get you back." Reid laughed along with his friend.

"And did he?"

"Not that I know of." Reid mused.

After a moment of thought on both their parts, JJ decided to turn the conversation serious again. "Spencer can I ask you somethings?"

"Yeah, of course." He said and waited for her to continue.

"I have a lot of….bits and pieces in my head." She said pointing to her head as she spoke. "Names mostly, I already spoke with Emily and Morgan about Elle, Elle Greenaway." She stopped talking at this point.

"And you were wondering if I could help you fill in some of the blanks?" he asked for her.

"Yeah." She admitted.

**AN: OK so I know very little about football and even less about the Washington Redskins. A quick look up on Wikipedia is where I got Russ Grimm from. Sorry to any football fans out there that could of come up with a better name for the back of JJ's Jersey. I can't help it, I'm hockey people (it's a Canadian thing eh!)**


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

"What?" JJ asked as Reid looked at her with a perplexed look.

"JJ that's a lot of names." He answered her truthfully.

"Names that you know?" the hopeful tone in her voice hadn't gone unnoticed by the young genius.

"Yes, but.." He stopped not sure he should continue.

"But what?" She all but shouted unable to be patient for much longer.

"I have an idea. Come with me." He stood and offered out his hand. She sat on the couch for a moment before taking it and walking out of the apartment.

"Where are we going?" She asked as he all but dragged her to his car.

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"Hey Baby Girl, we're leaving JJ's place now. We managed to come up with a list of places she might have gone. Did you get any hits off her credit or debit cards?"

"Nothing Sugar, not even a ping."

"Don't worry Mama we'll find her. She probably just went for a walk to clear her head."

"I know. I'm just worried about my Sunshine."

"I know you are Baby Girl. Hang in there." And with that Morgan hung up his phone and continued driving towards the coffee shop a few blocks from JJ's house.

_Morgan_

"It's me." Emily said in to her phone as she stepped outside a small deli. "I just left DiRenzo's and no one's seen her. How'd you make out at the coffee shop?"

_Same. Garcia can't find any recent transactions on her debit or credit cards and her phone is still of._

"I'm gonna call Hotch see how he's making out." And with that Emily hung up and started dialing the Unit Chief's number.

_Hotchner_

"Hotch, it's Emily. Morgan and I struck out. Any luck?"

_None. Lets meet back at the BAU and we'll figure out what to do from there._

"Ok. I'll let Morgan know."

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"And that's your office." Reid said concluding his tour of the BAU and heading towards her office.

"Ok. But I still don't understand why we're here."

"JJ," Reid's tone turned more serious as he began his explanation. "All those names you remembered. They are all linked to cases."

"Oh. Where they all…Unsubs?"

"No. In fact most weren't."

"Really?" She smiled.

"Really." He confirmed. "Here sit down." He lead her to her chair behind her desk. As she sat there she placed her hands on the surface of the desk and looked around. The first thing she noticed was some framed photos of her and various members of the team. When she turned around and looked at the bookcase behind her she found more photos of the team and some of her family. "Which name would you like to start with?" He asked her taking the seat on the other side of her desk.

"Polly Homefeldt."

"Do you remember anything about her?"

"No. But I found some letters from her at my place. I know she plays soccer and is going to Penn State this fall."

Reid nodded. "Polly's mom came here on the advice of your Aunt to, uh, get you to help find Polly and 2 other missing girls in North Mammon. You convinced us all to take the case and we found Polly and her friend alive. I'm not sure what happened after we left but apparently you still keep in touch with her." He paused for a moment before continuing; "Though I'm curious about something." She nodded and he continued. "Why not use email?"

"Yeah that's probably my doing. I like hand written letters. I know it's old fashioned but it's more personal." Reid nodded. He understood he wasn't big into technology either. But he had figured JJ was; though the use of something more personal such as writing letters did seem to suit her.

"What about Jacob Dawes?"

"Oh uh, he was a serial killer. We did a consult just before he was to be executed hoping to find out about other girls he'd killed."

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"Sir. Did you find her?" Garcia all but ambushed the Unit Chief the second he stepped off the elevator.

"Not yet."

"I can put out an APB on her. I'm sure the Local LEO's would pick her up in no time."

"We can't do that. Technically she's not missing." He replied making his way to the bullpen.

"We just don't know where she is." Emily added dryly.

"She'll come home when she's ready. I think she just needs some space Baby Girl."

"But what if she's hurt, or lost or worse! What if some sicko is after, or already has her, or…."

"Garcia!" Hotch warned cutting off her ramble.

"Sorry Sir."

"Hotch." Emily said pointing to one of the offices on the upper level that had its lights on. "You don't think…." Emily trailed off.

"It's possible." Morgan added as he and the others made their way towards the office marked Jennifer Jareau.

**A/N: Should only be one chappy left after this! Hope everyone is still ejoying this - sorry for the sparce updates!**


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

"Reid?" Emily questioned as she stepped into the office belonging to the media liaison. Then she noticed the other occupant in the room. "JJ! Where have you been?" She asked as the rest of the team began to file in.

"I went to see Spencer." She said pointing to the younger man beside her. "Then we came here." Confusion evident in her tone.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" A hint of anger made its way into Emily's voice.

"I didn't want to wake you."

"We've been looking all over for you!" Emily's voice was steadily growing louder.

"We?" JJ questioned. "You involved everyone? What for?"

"What for?" Emily spat back. She knew full well that she shouldn't be this angry. But the truth of the matter was she was tired and worried and unable to keep a lid on her emotions at this point.

"Emily, look. I appreciate that you were concerned about me." JJ started taking a defensive tone. "But I don't need a babysitter."

Seeing that a full blown argument was about to begin Garcia took the opportunity to try and defuse the situation. "We're just glad you're ok Sunshine." She smiled and made her way to her friend with her arms wide open.

"Ok?" JJ all but yelled before sidestepping Garcia's hug. "I am missing years of my life. That's far from ok don't you think." Seeing the usually controlled Jenifer Jareau so emotional made Garcia even more concerned than she had been. As Garcia moved closer for a second time JJ threw her hands up in front of her and said; "Would you please stop doing that!" Frustration seeping into her voice.

After seeing the look on her Garcia's face Morgan felt it was time to interject himself into this conversation. "Garcia was just trying to help JJ." Morgan said from his spot at the door.

"We just want to make sure you're taken care of." Reid said as she took a seat on the couch.

"I don't need to be taken care of Spence" JJ yells at him, "I'm a grown woman."

"I know that, you're right. It's just…" he stopped as something in his genius brain clicked into place and he smiled at her before he continued. "You just called me Spence."

"So I always call you that." She replied still angry. "Don't change the subject!"

"She called you Spence!" Garcia said sounding quiet giddy as she caught on to Reid's train of thought.

"I don't know why this is such a big deal," JJ turned to Garcia. "I always call him Spen…." JJ started trying to remain angry at her friends but unable to as the realization dawned on her as it had the others that she had regained her memories. She was calling him Spence again because that's what she'd always called him.

As she stood in the middle of her office, JJ looked to each of her friends in turn to see if she could truly remember.

Spencer Reid, boy genius and best friend. They had went on a date once but now they were best friends. More like brother and sister really. She even remembered telling him all about collecting butterflies as a child.

Emily Prentiss, best friend and big sister. No matter what they had each other's back. Whether it be from an UnSubs or a bad date with another goofy guy they'd be there for each other.

Penelope Garcia, the eccentric technical analyst that she'd spent many nights chatting with and drinking wine and many more days shopping and gossiping. She could always count on Penelope to brighten up her day.

Derek Morgan, overprotective big brother. They butt heads more times then she'd care to think about but she knows it's only because he cares. And she cares about him too.

And last but not least Aaron Hotchner. She'd always had a special relationship with their Unit Chief. He wasn't a boss and he wasn't a big brother, he wasn't a father figure either. A combination of the 3 she'd decided long ago.

As she stood there with tears in her eyes and the memories of a lifetime, no not just a lifetime but her lifetime, JJ was glad that she had so many people in her life that cared this much about her.

"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." Kevin Arnold

THE END


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